Hyde finds stride in SDL appearance
- Updated: June 16, 2020
A Sharks pitcher delivers on Tuesday. / The San Diego League
2020 SUMMER BASEBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON – Jack Hyde’s freshman season at the University of San Diego certainly didn’t get off to the start he probably envisioned.
Hyde never really gained his footing in three early-season starts with the Toreros in 2020, resulting in rough outings against Oregon, Nebraska, and Long Beach State.
However, Hyde found his stride against collegiate competition on Tuesday, pitching three scoreless innings with four strikeouts for the San Diego League’s Sharks in a 6-0 win over the SDL’s Waveriders at Christian High.
It was the second day of competition for the summer baseball league. All eight teams have now played one game. Out of an abundance of caution, no spectators are currently allowed to attend SDL contests.
“I had a little bit of rust on the offspeed but I was mostly throwing fastballs,” said Hyde, who started the contest for the Sharks. “The command was really good with the fastball so I was happy with that.”
The Grossmont Foothiller legend was followed by former Eastlake High star Ricky Tibbett (now at San Diego State), who also pitched three scoreless innings. SDL starters are currently limited to three innings at the start of the league’s campaign.
University of Arizona-bound Kyle Casper, out of Valhalla, had an RBI double in the second inning which gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead. Casper was hitting .474 for the Norsemen when the season ended in March.
The Sharks’ Niko Diaz, from Cal State San Marcos, had an RBI single in the fourth inning to help his team to a 4-0 lead.
Clay Fordham, who was off to a 2-0 start with just one unearned run allowed in 13 1/3 innings for Granite Hills when the season came to a stop, came in a bases-loaded situation in the top of the fourth for the Waveriders and got his team out of the jam without further damage.
Fordham will enroll at Grossmont College this fall.
HOOKS 5, WILD 1 – Hooks pitchers recorded 13 strikeouts in the morning game win at Christian High.
The Hooks’ Zach Smits, who was hitting .400 (16-for-40) at New Mexico State this past season, drove in a run in the sixth and Gonzaga University-bound teammate Zach Schwartzberg, out of La Jolla Country day, added an RBI in the ninth.
